Anchorage



J1me 1931. w. H. WHEELER ET AL 9,

ANCHORAGE Filed Feb. 17, 1927 MM 1171/! g Jadro n, (LLaiz I ATTORNEY Patented June 9, 1931 NETEED STATES wiLLrAM r1. WHEELER, or NEW YORK, n. 11.1mm JUDSON 0. mean, or JERSEY orrY, NEW JEnsnY ANCHOBAGE Application filed February 17, 19-27. Serial No. 168,909.

Our invention relates to an improved means of anchoring a member to a suitable base in such manner that it cannot be removed without mutilating or disfiguring the memher or the base.

A specific object of the invention is to provide an anchorage that is particularly suitable for securing identification plates to automobiles, in such manner as to prevent removing the plate without so damaging it as to render it unfit for further use.

The present application covers a modification of our application, Serial No. 732,268, filed August 15, 192 1, which eventuated in Patent No. 1,568,433, issued January 5, 1926.

A particular object of the present invenion is to provide a form of anchorage for securing a plate to a panel, such, for instance, as the instrument board or the dashboard of an automobile.

VVit-h these and other objects in view, our invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 shows the'rear face of a plate adapted to be secured to a panel by means of our improved anchorage;

Fig. 2 is a view, in longitudinal section, of the plate attached to the panel;

Fig. 3 is an end View, on an enlarged scale, of one of our anchorage devices;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken 35 away, of the anchorage device shown in Fig.

3 and Fi g. 5 is a cross-sectional view, showing another form of our invention.

In the drawings the numeral is used to designate an identification plate for an auto mobile, and the numeral 11 to indicate a panel to which the plate is to be attached. The plate is provided at the rear with two flanges 12, each formed by boring a hole 13 and an annular groove 14 spaced from and concentric with the hole. The depth of the groove and the hole is a little less than the thickness of the plate, and the thickness of the metal be tween the inner end of the groove and the upper face of the plate is less than the thickness the other end of the shank.

of the flange 12. The plate is of relatively thick metal, so that ample material is provided for a flange 12 of suitable length for anchorage purposes, as will be described presently. p

The panel 11 is bored with two apertures 15 of a diameter equal to that oflthe annular grooves 1 1 and relatively spaced apart to register with said grooves. In these apertures are fitted anchorage devices adapted to cooperate with the flanges 12 to anchor the plate to the panel. I

Each of said anchorage devices consists of two members, namely a rivet member 16 and an expander plug 17. The rivet member comprises a cylindrical shank 18 with a head 19 at oneend thereof, and a recess 20 formed in This recess, which is adapted to receive the expander plug 17, is undercut, forming a lip 21 at the mouth of the recess. The lip is formed .witha sharp inner corner 22 and a rounded outer corner 23. The latter serves to guide a flange 12 into the mouth of the recess.

The plug 17 has a cylindrical body 24,with an outwardly projecting flange 25 at the inner end and a frustoconioal portion- 26 at the outer end thereof. The flange 25 is of such diameter that it can be inserted only with the exercise of considerable pressure past the lip 21 into the recess 20. Once the plug 17 has been introduced into the rivet member 16, it is practically impossible to remove it therefrom, and yet the plug has limited freedom of motion within the recess 20.

To anchor the plate 10to the panel 11, rivet members 16, with expander plugs 17 in them, are inserted into the apertures 15, with the heads 19 hearing against the rear face of the panel, while the recessed ends of the rivet members are brought into operative engagement with the flanges 12. Then by applying pressure against the rivet heads and the plate simultaneously, the flanges 12 are pressed into the recesses 20. As they enter the recesses they follow the contour of the plugs 17, being flared out by the frusto-conical portions 26 into the undercut portions of the recesses 20 and against the sharp corners 22 of the lips 21. Thus the plate is locked to the panel, because the corners 22 dig into the flanges 12 and prevent them from being with drawn from the recesses 20. So firm is the grip of the lips 21 on the flanges 12, that any effort to pull the plate away from the panel will result in tearing out a portion of the plate along the area weakened by the grooves 14. The rivet members 16 are made of hardenedmetal, so that it is practically impossible to cut them with saws, drills, files, or other tools, and if heat be applied to the heads of the rivets to draw their temper, the plate would be discolored and could not be used again. The recessed ends of the shanks 18 project into the grooves 14 and extend so far up into said grooves as to preclude the possibility of sawing edgewise through the plate clear of said shanks. The heads 19 are rounded, as shown, so as not to provide a good hold for a tool. However, even were it possible to twist the heads, the only result would be to tear a piece out of the plate, because the flanges 12 are jammed very tightly between the plugs 17 and the rivet members 16. As the rivets were twisted, the flanges would twist with them, and since the thickness of the flanges is greater than that of the metal between the face of the plate and the inner end of the grooves 14, it would be impossible to twist the flanges off the plate without tcaring a piece out of the face of the plate.

The apertures 15 in the panel 11, are made slightly larger than the shanks 18 of the rivet members, so that the latter will adjust them selves to any slight departures from accurate registry with the flanges carried by the plate. In order to insure a tight fit of the plate against the panel and prevent any lateral play, while, at the same time, providing a limited tolerance in the spacing of the apertures 15, a gasket 27 is provided on each rivet member, which fits between the shank 18 and the aperture 15 and between the head 19 and the rear face of the panel 11. This gasket is preferably formed of soft metal, such as lead.

Figure 5 illustrates a slightly different form of ancliorage member 16. This corresponds in every way to the member 16 except asto the head. The head 19 of the rivet member 16 has a tapered or frustoconical inner face 19 which is let into a countersunk aperture in the panel 11. The panel 11 is preferably formed with a re cess 11 to receive the plate 10, thus making theanehorage even more inaccessible to the thief. No lead gasket is shown in this form of the anchorage, but it will be evident that a gasket could be supplied if desired.

We claim:

1. In an anchorage of the character described, a base formed with an aperture, a rivet comprising a head bearing against one side of the base and a shank passing through the aperture, the free end of the shank being formed with an undercut shouldered rethe recess.

2. In an anchorage of the character described, a base formed with an aperture, a rivet having a head bearing against. one side of the base and a shank passing through the aperture and projecting from the opposite side of the base, the projecting end of the shank being formed with an undercut shouldered recess, a plate bearing against the opposite side of the base and formed with a groove to receive the projecting end of the shank, the plate being also formed with a flange adapted to enter said recess, and a plug in the recess for offsetting the flange into the undercut portion of the recess.

3.1n an anchorage of the character described, base formed with an aperture, a rivet having a head bearing against one side of the base and a shank passing through the aperture, the shank being formed with a recess in the projecting end thereof and with an inwardly projecting lip at the mouth of the recess, said lip having asharp, salient inner corner, a plate bearing against the opposite side of the base and formed with an annular flange adapted to enter said recess, and a plug in the recess adapted to spread the flange against said corner when the plate is pressed against the base.

XVILLIAM H. WHEELER. JUDSON C. LOGAN. 

